AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What’s up, big man?” Nick pounds his huge hands on the windshield and I hop out, eager to get him and his body off my car. He’s no longer a seventeen-year-old athlete at the top of his game; now he’s tiptoeing into his thirties with a few extra pounds on his already-large defensive back frame.
“What’s up, Nick?” I smack my palm against his and we bro hug. A few seconds later, Sloane swings around to meet us.
“Hey, sugar.” Nick bends down, wrapping Sloane in a tight squeeze and lifting her off the ground, and a sharp twinge of jealousy pings through me.
Stop it, Crawford. You have no hold on her; it’s not like you can call dibs.
Nick drops Sloane’s feet back to the ground and I relax, shoving a hand in my pocket.
“Guys, look who Sloane brought with her!” He spins around to the group, announcing my presence and every muscle in my body contracts.
So much for relaxation.
Immediately, almost everyone sitting around the bonfire jumps up and runs over, swarming Sloane and me. There’s a flurry of hugs and hellos and how-you-beens and I’m already over it, wondering how soon I can leave.
“Give the guy some breathing room. C’mon, y’all, let’s grab a beverage.” Nick grabs my arm and I instinctively take Sloane’s hand, pulling us out of the overwhelming circle of people.
Her hand is soft and warm in mine, grounding me in this moment. She smiles over at me and the knot loosens a touch more as we head over to the bonfire already roaring near the lake.
The sun’s almost all the way down now, sinking into the water, the last few lingering rays of light swallowed up by the night. Cicadas hum in the distance over the rhythmic splash of water lapping against the shore. Without the blaze of the sun, the air temp drops a degree or two, but it’s still muggy as hell. No-see-ums buzz around my head and I swat at my neck, trying to bat them away.
Nick reaches into a cooler and tosses a beer in my direction. I gratefully pop the top and take a long chug while he runs through the various drink options with Sloane. Someone cranks up the music on a portable speaker, the bass so loud the ground vibrates. Clumps of people stand around in circles, some at the edge of the lake, others clustered around the fire. Orange and red flames flicker againstthe darkening sky, the heavy scent of woodsmoke tickling my nose.
“How ya been, Crawford? Long time, no see.” Nick elbows me before plopping down in a folding chair and crossing one leg over his knee, ready to hold court.
“Fine, man. Good.” I let Sloane take the seat next to Nick before sinking down into the chair beside her. She sips at her drink, totally at home out here, with these people. Basically, the exact opposite of me, all wound up and edgy. I’ve been gone for so long, I don’t know how to fit in anymore. Sloane’s always been more at ease and it seems like she hasn’t skipped a beat.
“When did you get to town? I’m kinda hurt you didn’t call.” Nick gives me his best sad puppy dog expression and my apprehension rockets up. I fiddle with the aluminum pop top on my beer; I don’t particularly feel like playing Twenty Questions.
“Only yesterday. I figured I’d be seeing everyone out here tonight. Of course I was going to call. But hey—now I don’t have to, right?” I shoot him a sideways glance and his face breaks into a grin.
“Right! You still up in Chicago?” He tips his beer back, shooting the rest of the drink.
“Nah. I’m a free agent right now.”
“Wow. Well, shit. That sucks.”
I shrug. “Should be fine. My agent’s working on negotiations with a few teams.” I let the half-truth roll off my tongue, smooth as whiskey. “What’ve you been up to?”
Changing the topic of conversation, I nod in all the right places at Nick’s long-winded resume, trying to seem invested. I fully lose interest once he starts talking about the various types of insurance he sells, my attention drifting to Sloane instead. The glow from the firehighlights her high cheekbones, the cinnamon freckles splashed across her nose, and I wish we were alone right now.
I’ve thought of her off and on over the year—what she was up to, where she was and who she was with. But there was never a right time to reach out and try to reconnect. I was always busy—playing, training, traveling. I had no time for anything outside of football. And definitely not pursuing any kind of romantic relationship.
You have nothing but time now.
The thought’s unsettling, yet somehow sort of appealing.
Now that I’m back here in her orbit, I wonder what she’s like as a woman. Is she the same sweet, funny girl, with the goofy sense of humor that had me laughing so hard my abs cramped? Does she still eat Skittles sorted by color, unceremoniously chucking all the purple ones into the trash because she thinks they taste like allergy medicine? Is she still the good girl she was back in high school? So innocent that when Nick asked her what a 69 was, she immediately checked the grading scale posted on the classroom wall and said a ‘D’?
I want to find out.
Would love to touch her, taste her, feel her body beneath me.
“Crawford, you in?”
“Huh?” I snap back to reality, Nick nudging my knee.
“All of us going out on the lake tomorrow. I’ve got a sweet boat, a Pathfinder. And of course, it’s insured out the wazoo.” He chuckles at his dumb joke. “We can do some fishing, the ladies can float out at the sandbar. It’ll be real fun.”
